Since 1947 the Music Academy of the West has fostered a uniquely joyful engagement with music. Each June 140 gifted young classical singers and instrumentalists, selected entirely for their talent, gather for eight weeks in Santa Barbara to study and make music with illustrious guest artists, conductors, and faculty – all to the delight of participating audiences. We invite you to take part in the incomparable Music Academy Summer Festival. Half of all festival events can be attended free of charge.
2010 Festival: June 21 to August 14
Event Highlights Include:
Friday, 6 August
2010 Opera Production
7 pm, The GranadaGeorge Manahan, conductor
Chas Rader-Shieber, director
Mozart: Don Giovanni
Rapturously received at its 1787 premiere and hailed ever since as the perfect opera, Don Giovanni dramatizes the story of the legendary libertine Don Juan. Mozart's powerful, deeply moving masterpiece features complex characterizations, a blend of comedy, drama, and the supernatural, and a score of unsurpassed beauty and eloquence. We welcome the return of Maestro George Manahan, music director of the New York City Opera, and the boldly inventive Chas Rader-Shieber – the team behind our 2008 production of William Bolcom's A Wedding. Repeats August 8 at 2 pm. Don Giovanni is the 2010 Irene Cummings Endowed Opera at the Music Academy of the West.
Reserved Seating: $120 box seats, $75, $58, $38, and $10, includes facility fees
Saturday, 7 August
8 pm, First Presbyterian Church
Academy Chamber Orchestra
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Bach: Brandenburg
Concerto No. 1 in F Major, BWV 1046
Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F Major, op. 93
Nicholas
McGegan has captivated players and audiences alike with his irrepressible
enthusiasm. "An acclaimed expert in 18th century style" (The New Yorker), McGegan, who is music
director of San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, is called upon by
symphony orchestras across the globe to conduct not only the music of Handel,
Haydn, and Mozart, but also Beethoven, Schubert, and Mendelssohn.
Unreserved Seating: $40
TICKETS
Saturday, 14 August
8 pm, The Granada
Academy Festival Orchestra
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Barber: Symphony No. 1 in One Movement, op. 9
Janácek: Taras Bulba
Tchaikovsky:
Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, op. 74, Pathétique
Peter
Oundjian's probing musicality and engaging personality have been on
full display over the last two Summer Festivals. The music director of
the Toronto Symphony Orchestra has earned critical accolades, thrilled
audiences, and forged relationships with many international ensembles.
Reserved seating: $100 box seats, $48, $38, $28, and $10, includes facility fees
TICKETS
